1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an assembly rail formed out of at least one profile element comprising a rail slot extending along one side in the longitudinal direction of the profile element and comprising inwardly oriented support legs adjacent to the rail slot.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,571 describes a support construction comprising profile elements to be fastened on walls, ceilings or the like. These profile elements have a rail slot extending along one side in the longitudinal direction of the profile elements, wherein the rail slot is arranged between inwardly oriented support legs extending adjacent to the rail slot. Rungs are fasten on the profile elements and serve for supporting pipes, cables or the like. These rungs are preferably screwed down on the profile elements by means of hammer-head screws. If required, is also possible to connect two profile elements with their backside resting against one another; this increases the fastening possibilities even more.
Such profile elements are known in many different configurations; however, they comprise conventionally the same basic element wherein the parallel extending profile elements are combined to an assembly rail with their longitudinal sides resting against one another. Moreover, it is known to provide the assembly rail with reinforcement plates which are welded areally onto the sidewalls or the back wall of the assembly rail.
In the known types of configurations, depending on the type of use, a differently configured assembly rail is required which thus necessitates a plurality of differently configured assembly rails. Moreover, the connection by screwing of several profile elements of the same type to a desired assembly rail on site represents a considerable mounting expenditure which is often uneconomical for cost reasons. The different shapes which result by combining individual profile elements require often also differently configured connecting elements which must be adapted to the respective use so that stocking of these elements as well as assembly leads to considerable costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,293 describes in FIG. 3 a rail comprised of a single piece of sheet metal which is bent multiple times in order to provide a C-shaped inner profile and a C-shaped outer profile. The free ends of the deformed sheet metal strip abut at the backside of the outer C-shaped profile and are welded together.
A very similar concept of manufacturing a rail is also described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,550 where the unitary rail is also formed by bending a sheet metal strip multiple times and connecting the free ends at the backside of the outer C-shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,204 discloses in FIG. 2 an inner profile element 62 and an outer hollow profile 60 having free ends 82 and 80 which are bent about the free ends 100 of the profile element 62 so that the rail slot is defined between the ends 82 and 80 of the hollow profile 60.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an assembly rail of the aforementioned kind which can be universally employed.
In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved in that the profile element is arranged in a receiving slot, formed in a longitudinal side between edge strips of a hollow profile larger than the profile element, and is fixedly connected thereto, wherein the rail slot of the profile element is oriented outwardly.
The assembly rail is extremely torsion-proof and comprises, in comparison to the known configurations, a substantially increased load-bearing capacity. Special constructive measures for additionally reinforcing the assembly rail, as needed in known profile elements, is not required in the case of the assembly rail of the present invention. A further advantage is seen in that the outer contour of the assembly rail is independent of the shape and size of the profile element. As a result of the closed rail configuration, the outer dimensions of the frame construction can be constructed of larger sizes as compared to the open C-rails because the inventive closed shape prevents the risk of torsional-flexural buckling. It is thus possible to create greater lengths of the assembly rail as a result of the improved stability behavior of the closed profile.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the profile element is received such in the hollow profile that the side of the profile element where the rail slot is provided is flush with the mantle surface of the hollow profile. As an alternative, it is also possible to arrange the profile element such in the hollow profile that the respective side with the rail slot projects past the contour of the mantle surface of the hollow profile. In this connection, this projecting length is relatively small, generally xe2x89xa65 mm.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, the profile element is connected with the edge strips of the hollow profile by material bonding (soldering, welding or the like). In order for the stability to be identical about the entire length of the assembly rail, it is furthermore advantageous to weld the profile element about its entire length to the edge strips. An advantageous welding method in this connection is laser welding or weld cladding by using powders. As alternatives for material bonding methods, other connecting technologies are also usable, for example, jointing or gluing.
In order for the connecting elements to be mountable independent of the respective direction, i.e., on each of the four sides of the profile, it is expedient that the hollow profile, which is larger in comparison to the profile element, has a cross-section that is at least approximately square. In this connection, the assembly rail, relative to the side of the profile element where the rail slot is provided, can have a height which corresponds to the width of the hollow profile. In this way, connecting elements can also be universally configured and always match the assembly rail independent of their position. The profile element in the assembly rail can have different shapes without this having an effect on the outer contour of the hollow profile. For example, it is possible to use profile elements with a flat cross-sectional shape or profile elements with a greater depth. The hollow profile can be comprised of two identical lateral elements forming receiving slots on two oppositely positioned sides of the hollow profile; in each one of the receiving slots a profile element is arranged. This forms a twin rail or double rail whose mounting possibilities are even more universal.
It is also possible to produce the profile element as well as the surrounding hollow profile of a material with identical wall thickness. However, it is also considered to be expedient to provide the profile element with a somewhat smaller wall thickness than the hollow profile. The assembly rail with only one profile element can be provided with openings, preferably for receiving attachment elements, basically on all sides, including the profile element bottom. The openings are particularly round holes or slotted holes; however, other shapes of openings are possible also. The assembly rail, i.e., the profile element as well as the hollow profile, can be made of steel, wherein it is expedient to protect the material against corrosion. The corrosion protection can be applied by or in the form of the following measures: hot galvanizing; duplex steel; coatings of lacquer or paint; or Sendzimir galvanizing. As an alternative to this, it is also possible to employ stainless steel for the profile element and the hollow profile.